Cold Things Never Catch Fire
by PLLPailyfan
Summary: Paily AU: Love is strange. More so if you're someone who has never REALLY felt love. Paige never had and never intended to. Will she be brave enough or will she run?
1. Chapter 1

******A/N: Hello people. Just wanted to say that this is my first time writing something like this. I don't know if it's good or not but I hope it entertains you.**

******Cheers! :)**

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**Chapter I:** **You May Emerge From This More Dead Than Alive.**

Running in the mornings around her neighbourhood, when the night's dew remained palpable in the air, was the best way to start the day for Paige McCullers. However, that day was going to be different. That day she was going to leave her home, her entire life, and head over to some remote boarding school.

Being the daughter of Nicolas McCullers, a well-known politician, meant the constant need to be perfect. In addition, he controlled every aspect of her life, as if his career depended on Paige always behaving like a perfect woman. She had to be the perfect socialite, attending to events her father required her to attend, constantly mixing with obnoxious rich people, and now she had to attend St. James boarding school.

Of course she wasn't perfect at all times, in fact she was far from it. She had been arrested twice; once for allowing her dog to drive her vehicle, and then for under-age drinking. And there was just one single thing she was really good at or really enjoyed at least; swimming. Apparently, St. James had the best swimming team in the country, so maybe it wasn't going to be that bad. Besides, her best friend Pru had studied there for a year, which meant she wasn't going to be completely alone.

Her parents decided to drive her there, instead of sending her just with security personnel. She'd appreciate the gesture, but of course her father was going to use this moment to promote his perfect family with the press. The thought of people looking at her like some strange attraction in a carnival, made her feel embarrassed. It didn't always happen the same way, but it always happened. Whenever they went out as a 'family', people would stare and quietly murmur things. She blamed mostly her father for being more in love with his political spectacles than he was with his family, but also media often portrayed them as self-absorbed, elitist snobs, which was untrue, well, most of the time.

"We're almost there. I'm expecting for you to behave yourself. As you know, this isn't a cheap school, so I want you to improve your grades. I won't allow for you to waste your time. Don't forget your swimming. That's why you're here, after all." Paige just nodded as she always did when her father gave her an order.

"You have to study very hard," her mother said strongly to her, "I don't want to hear about any boys, Do you understand? We're not sending you there to make friends anyway." Paige rolled her eyes as she stared out the window.

Finally, after what seemed to be an interminable journey full of Don't's, they had arrived to the campus and, as the expensive car entered through the massive gates, Paige could finally see the grandest of the school. It was situated at the foot of a mountain overlooking a river, surrounded by forest and lush landscape, and the buildings that complemented the scenery were old but immaculately maintained. It was full of parents with cameras snapping away, and annoying teenagers talking.

The Bentley stopped at the entrance of the main building, and soon, 4 bodyguards emerged from a black van that always followed along. One of the bodyguards opened the door for her and she thanked him with a nod.

As she walked to the door, she noticed a big billboard on the side. It portrayed six students, who actually looked more like models to her, wearing the school uniform and laughing as they walked side by side. -_'Excellence is our guiding principle.' – _It looked like a promotional picture of gossip girl and she hated it.

The press was there to cover the event too, and after a minute of flashes and fake smiles, the Principal's Secretary led them to the interior, not before people started to look at them. She hated it so fucking much.

The foyer had grand staircases and the ceiling was awfully high. There were trophies everywhere that showed the school was very successful in sports and academics. Down the halls there were banners, hanging from the ceiling, of the swimming team, hockey, football, everything.

Paige kept examining as she followed the woman until they reached another door. She felt adrenaline pumping harshly through her veins as the secretary knocked on the door twice. She wasn't a nervous person, but today she was feeling quite uneasy.

The room was a classic man's study; Old-world craftsmanship and antique furnishings surrounded a fireplace as a small old man was behind a desk, looking directly at them, and as he got closer, Paige could see him better; he was Japanese, grey hair, very slim, dressed in a grey suit.

"Good morning," The man stood up as he moved across the room, "How have you been, Congressman? It's so wonderful to finally meet your family. You must be Miss McCullers. I'm Takashi Nakamura, the Headmaster of St. James School. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Please have a seat." Paige instantly felt annoyed and rolled her eyes. Usually, when people called her Miss McCullers they wanted to get something out of her father.

"Thank you for receiving us, Dean Nakamura." Her father replied as he shook the Dean's hand.

"Please, don't mention it. You should be very proud, Miss McCullers. You were picked out of thousands of girls all over the world to attend this school," the man said as he faced her, then continued, "How you like the campus? It's beautiful isn't it?" Dean Nakamura stated.

Paige nodded, "It's all right, I guess."

After a moment, the man led them to the brown leather couches and she followed without complaint. As Paige took her seat, the Dean cleared his throat roughly and spoke again. "We have many things to talk about, and you must have many questions Miss McCullers. Please feel free to ask." He said as he took a seat.

"Not really. I think I know everything I need to know." said Paige bored. She just wanted to get it over quickly so she could go look for her friend Pru.

"There's nothing better than a well-informed student, I always say." The man smiled so big it almost looked artificial, "Then, as you already know, you are allowed to go home during holidays and you can call your parents when you like. You're also allowed to keep your cell phone, under a few conditions of course. It cannot be taken to classes and they must be turned off during study hours and after lights-out." He said looking directly into their eyes.

Paige drew a deep breath and sighed heavily. "That sounds fine by me."

"You're will be trained by Coach Fulton. She's one of the best swimming coaches in the country, honey." her mother said smiling at her. Paige knew she was pretending to care about her, as she always did in public. Then, when they were alone, she would be cold.

"Indeed, and we are aware that your daughter is a wonderful swimmer and her grades are perfect. I'm sure her swimming will improve very much after training with Coach Fulton." Replied the headmaster as he looked at her father.

Paige just sat with her back straight, not knowing if he was serious or if he was mucking her.

"Even though I have to warn you, you'll face a lot of competition here. You'll need some good technical skills. I can guarantee that." The professor said, looking proud.

"Excuse me? Are you saying I'm not good enough?" Paige asked in a sort of snobby tone, placing a strain her auburn hair behind her ear.

"Of course not, I'm sorry if you misunderstood me. We encourage our students to be competitive, but they must learn how to play in the right way." The man assured smiling widely. "Competitiveness is important because it inspires people to excel and exceed expectations. I have great expectations of you Paige, and I'm looking forward to see what you'll do for the team during your senior year."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. "I'll try my best then."

"I was certain you'd say that. We're very happy to have you here," The Headmaster stood and grabbed a file from his desk and handed it to her.

"The folder has a list of all your classes, a map of the school and other information that you may need; Names and numbers of your counsellors and coaches, rules and regulations, excreta." The Dean explained nicely as they stepped outside the office. "Mrs Rivers will give you your dorm and room keys. Just you and your roommate each have a copy of your room's key, so."

"Wait, no one mentioned a roommate. Am I going to have a roommate instead of living on my own?" she asked, panicking a little and looking at her mother.

Her mother raised her eyebrows, "She is sharing her room? We specifically asked for a single room. I don't want any distractions." She said laughing.

Dean Nakamura nodded, "I'm so sorry about the inconvenience but we couldn't get around this, we have no separate rooms this year." He said. "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience but your roommate is a wonderful young woman, she is actually the best swimmer on the team."

Paige shrugged, "Whatever. I don't care." She said.

Her father turned to Dean, "Is this girl a Christian? I do not want my daughter to be roomed with someone without morals. Are her parent's here? I'd like to meet them." He said. It made Paige exhale in frustration.

"Her father is Lieutenant General Wayne Fields; a man to respect with the fullest of honours and her mother is a lovely woman. I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about." The Dean said calmly, "Now, you'll be in room number 9, in the Riverfront hall dorm. That is the senior's dorm. We do not start classes until Monday, so you are free to go hang out around campus. Light's out is at 11:30 on week nights and 1:00 am on weekends. Breakfast starts from 6:00 until 8:00, lunch is from 11:00 until 12:30 and dinner is from 4:00 until 7:00. I know the layout of the campus might be a little confusing, so for the first week of school you won't be counted tardy to your classes but after that first week you will be counted." The Dean explained.

She did not say a word as she followed and listened to the man. The school was bigger than she had expected and teenagers passed, talking excitedly, beside her. She hated to be sent here, but at least it was better than being home with 2 strangers.

After a few minutes, they reached another office, smaller than the one the dean used, where a woman gave her the school's uniform; striped tie in blue and white, a solid white blouse, a very dapper blue blazer with white piping, and a blue pleated skirt. At least she was allowed to wear any kind of shoes as long as they were black. She also received her swimming team uniform, a blue training suit and team supply needs.

When everything was sorted the Dean made a young looking teacher take her to her dorm, while he talked to her parents. His name was Mr. Fitz and he was the dorm master assigned to Riverfront.

"Let's go. The other students are there already...You're really going to like it. " Mr. Fitz said, looking apologetic.

She just nodded, trying not to show how angry she was.

"Are you alright? You don't seem very excited." He said.

"Actually, yes, I'm perfectly alright." she said, feeling how anger welled up inside her chest.

"Well, I don't know why you're so down. But you can talk to me if you need to OK? After all, I'm going to be your dorm counsellor and teacher. All I can tell you now is that it's get better. Make the best of this experience." He said as they walked to the main door.

What the hell was he talking about? She could do nothing but smile at his cluelessness.

The weather outside was cold and gloomy, but she loved it. She followed the young man through the campus. She was able to see the sports complex, the chapel, and the indoor Olympic pool. They walked paths and gardens until they got to the building where her room was located. Her dorm was right in front of the river and the landscape was just beautiful.

"This is it." Mr. Fitz said as he opened the door. "Everybody wants to live in this dorm. You're lucky!"

The interior of the building was as amazing as the landscape. With a ceiling as high as the trees outside, pillars running the way up, bookshelves everywhere, couches, and amazing paintings.

"Well, this is very nice." Paige said trying not to look overly excited.

"There are 26 people living here with you. All of them are seniors. The school selected a person compatible with you to be your roommate." He said, as Paige giggled amused.

"What? Is this one of those zodiac deals?" She asked rolling her eyes and unable to control her laughter.

Mr. Fitz was about to say something when a girl yelled at the top of her lungs, making both of them jump back in fright.

"Ohmygod! You're here!" Paige immediately recognized the voice. It belonged to a young and pretty Korean-looking girl. It was her best friend Pru, without a doubt.

Paige narrowed her eyes and glared at the girl, "What the hell Pru? Do you have to scream like that all the time?"

" I'm sorry... I got excited to see you, and I guess I forgot you're a bitch." The girl said frowning, but still smiling.

" I'm happy to see you too!"

"So, do you want a tour or do you want to go straight to your room? Oh, I must warn you, it is kind of a mess now. All your boxes and stuff are there so you have to clean it or miss fucking perfect Hastings will flip."

"Could we leave the tour for later?" Paige replied calmly.

"Where are you parents?" Pru asked sounding concerned, but cool.

"Don't know."

" OK, I need you to be honest here! How do I look in this uniform?" Her friend asked jokingly.

"Honestly...You look beautiful," Paige said smiling.

"Why thank you, my friend. Now let's go to your room, your majesty."

Paige worked on memorizing the path to her room as the two of them walked through hallways. She had never shared a room before and she felt her muscles rigid with tension. Once reaching their destination, Pru grabbed her wrist tightly.

"Wait. Before we get in, you have to be aware that this place is far from what you're used to, OK " She warned Paige with high-pitch voice. "But at least you'll just have to share a bathroom with your roommate." Pru lifted an eyebrow, as she opened the door.

Even though the room was untidy, she noticed that the bedroom was beautifully decorated, so different from the rest of the dorm; a big French window framed a nice view to the river. Walls painted in white, light wood floor, two light wood wardrobes separated by a mirror, brushed steel twin beds with white goose-feather duvets. It looked simple, but quite nice. In fact, she loved it, but the lack of privacy, and the inability to have a quiet day sounded horrible.

"What the fuck? This place is too small for tow people. My bathroom is the size of this room. I can barely move without bumping into something." Paige stated as she looked around.

"I knew you'd say something like that. Do you want me to help you?" Pru asked sitting on one of the beds.

"Don't you have other things to do?"

"No. I am so bored. Plus, you have like 2 hours before Spencer comes to check up on you." The shorter girl said as she closed the door.

"Fine, if you want to."

"Cool! So which side do you want?"

Paige pointed at the bed nearest to the window and started unpacking and arranging her belongings. Pru helped her as they talked about the school's life and Pru's new crush. Spending time with her best friend was so nice. Pru was her only real friend and seeing her there, helping, made her realize she had missed her.

After what seemed like an hour, the room was almost ready, at least the half that belonged to her. Pru had been lying on her bed for most of the time. She was such a death weight but Paige was still grateful she was not alone.

"Did they tell you who your roommate is?" The small girl asked her intrigued.

"Kind of, and apparently she's compatible with me. What the fuck does that even mean?" She replied as her friend laughed.

"OMG...Who is she? I never thought there would be someone as weird as you."

"Ha-ha...very funny!" Paige said sarcastically, "I don't remember her name, but she's supposed to be the best swimmer in here."

Pru gasped in disbelief as she dropped a magazine she had read, "No... You're sharing a room with Emily Fields?! Wow...just...wow!" Pru smirked at her, her voice raising an octave. "Oh my god, Paige, your parents are going to freak out. Like for sure."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You'll see what I'm talking about. Just make sure they don't find out or you are out of here. That's all I got to say," she added in a don't-get-caught voice

"I'm sorry Prudence, but can you get any more fucking cryptic?

"I'm sorry but it's not my place to tell you."

"Whatever. Can we get out of here? I need some air and you're making me nervous with the crazy talking." Paige said impatiently and gestured towards the door.

As she opened the door, she noticed her palms were sweating. She gripped the knob tighter and swallowed. What could be so horrible about her roommate? Something inside of her told her she should just run away from there.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. I really appreciate them. Thank you for the time.**

**I'm sorry if Paige is a bitch at first but, in my mind, there is a very good reason why she's like that.**

**Anyway, this chapter is longer and was a bit rushed.**

**If you'd like shorter chapters, have advices or any suggestions, please let me know!**

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**Chapter II: You Can't Shake Hands with a Clenched Fist.**

"Good lord Em, did you put rocks in here or something?" Spencer questioned.

Shrugging, Emily replied with a wink, "Sorry, I wanted to make sure you didn't run out of books this year."

"Aww...That's really sweet." The thin girl said sarcastically.

Emily smiled and walked to her parents, who were standing outside her house. "Are you sure you don't want us to come and help you?" they said after looking at her lovingly.

"Yes mum. We'll manage." She said as she hugged them.

Her father grabbed her by the shoulders, "Have fun kiddo, and call us when you get there ok? We love you."

Emily waved at her parents, who were still standing outside the house, as the car pulled away. When she saw them disappear from her gaze, she sighed and rested her head against the window.

She kept quiet for awhile, starring at what nothing, lost in thought. She felt nervous. The school was the same, her friends were the same, her girlfriend Maya was the same, but everything felt different. She had spent nights with Maya talking about how wonderful and epic their senior year would be. Now she had none of that; Maya had transferred to another school because of a better music program. How could she say no to something like that? Was it even her place to say something? No, she couldn't, but she was scared of distance. They had been together for 2 years. They had shared school, friends and a room for 2 years.

"How did things with Maya go last night?" Her friend asked trying to end the silence.

"It was wonderful. Thank you for lending us the cabin." Emily answered excited.

"Don't mention it. I'm glad you had fun." Questioningly, Spencer's eyes looked at Emily, "Wait...Did you disrespect my nana's couch?

"No...just your bed." Emily teased.

"Perfect. Now I can't use the couch or my bed." Spencer sighed.

Emily smiled disheartened, "It's going to be hard being there without her, you know? I already miss her...and I don't really want to live with a Stranger."

"Well, it's not like you won't see her again, Em. She is just not going to be in the same school. Nothing has to change."

"I know. You are probably right as always. Still I am a bit worried about the roommate thing. I was so used to sharing a room with Maya. What if it's someone that hates me? What if it's Jenna?"

"Ok, inhale...now exhale...It's going to be fun, Em. What if she's hot and interesting?" Spencer asked, encouraging Emily.

"I have a girlfriend, remember?" She shook her head.

"So? That does not mean you cannot look. That's not cheating." Spencer replied with a board smile.

"I don't know. What if she is homophobic and stuff? What if she tried to preach the gay away and has crucifixes all over the room to exorcise me?" Emily insisted as she sat up straight. She was somewhat uncomfortable.

Spencer kept her eyes on the road. "Then you call me and I'll destroy her, ok? I am the dorm leader and I have power. We are with you Em. Nothing bad is going to happen. I'm sure she's going to be lovely."

Emily smiled at her friend, "Have I told you that you're the best friend anyone could ever have?"

"No, but you don't have to. I already know." As her friend returned her gaze to the road Emily felt better knowing she was not alone. She was so grateful to have such amazing people in her life.

The rest of the trip passed with the two girls chatting, singing their longs out and eating junk. She loved those moments where they worried about nothing and just had fun together.

Spencer parked the car as they got to the campus and after a few minutes, they unloaded their luggage and carried them to their dorm. As they got closer to her room, Emily regretted bringing so many things with her. She loved the school but sometimes it felt like living in Narnia.

The sidewalks were crowded with kids all over the place. Occasionally, people bumped into them as they made their way to her room. When they finally arrived, Spencer looked relieved.

"This was worse than hockey practice." Spencer smiled and Emily opened the door, "Wait...Seems like your hot new bff is already here," Spencer said moving her eyebrows.

"This is looking pretty decent." Emily said crossing her arms and tilting her head a little, evaluating the decoration on her roommate's side, "She doesn't have crucifixes or holy water, which is nice..."

Spencer moved to one of the shelf, "And...she has some interesting books. Not too bad, but I can't judge correctly right now, I need more caffeine in my system. Do you what anything?" Spencer said talking fast and enthusiastically.

Emily looked at her and smiled, "No, I'm cool."

After a few minutes of unpacking, she startled by voices outside the room. She started to look all over the room trying to find a place to hide. - _Ok, Emily. Calm down. It's not like she's Kate Middleton or the pope, so calm the hell down -_. She thought as she sat on her bed, pretending to read some random book she quickly took, feeling like a little kid about to be scold. Finally, the door opened, she saw a very well-dressed man, followed by what seemed to be his wife. Emily stood up gently from the bed, trying not to look weird.

"Hello, young lady. You must be Paige's roommate." The man said as he examined the room.

"I guess I am. Hello, I'm Emily Fields, nice to meet you!" She said without moving from her spot. Those people were quite intimidating.

"Nicholas McCullers," He said bluntly. "Where are your parents? I'd like to have a word with them."

Emily was about to speak but the woman walked beside him, "Nick. Please stop harassing Emily and tell Armand to look for Paige. I'd like to talk to her before we go." Nick smiled at the woman and left room.

" I'm Mrs McCullers." They shook hands and smiled at each other. Emily wished her mum was there with her. She felt so awkward, so out of context.

The door opened again, it was a girl followed by two tall and strong men. Emily had her eyes on her; she was perhaps as tall as Emily, very preppily dressed. Her skin was pale, her long brown hair tied in a neat ponytail, and big brown eyes. She was wearing the most snobbish expression Emily had ever seen. She thought she was quite beautiful and attractive, but they could not be more different. Who ever thought they would match was completely wrong.

The girl looked at the woman and rolled her eyes, "Are you serious, mother? This is where I'm going to live?"

"You'll move to a single room as soon as the imbecile Dean does what he was told. In the mean time, just stay here." The woman said, while she took a mirror out of her purse, "I don't want you back home until vacations —look at me, Paige. Do you understand? Or do I need to leave a bodyguard to take care of it?"

She could see how Paige clenched her fists. Perhaps she felt embarrassed? Instead of replying to her mother she looked in Emily's direction, finally realising they weren't alone. Emily's heart rate began to speed up just a bit faster. She obviously wasn't supposed to be witnessing that moment.

Paige didn't smile at her; she just stood still, looking directly at her. Her eyes seemed different though; they had seemed cold and confident before. Now it was as if she was asking for the world to stop. Then Paige sighed and with anger looked at the woman, pretending Emily wasn't even there. -_This is going to be horrible -. _Emily thought.

"I'll do as you say mother...for now." Paige replied harshly.

Mrs. McCullers looked at the girl; "I'M WARNING YOU PAIGE, IF YOU DO ONE MORE STUPID THING..." she looked enraged. Emily watched as her roommate smiled. It seemed as if they weren't related at all. Then the woman looked at Emily and spoke kindly, "I have to go. I'm going to be late for work."

"Bye, mother. Nice seeing you." Paige said as she looked at Emily, moving uncomfortably to her bed.

The woman had started to walk out, and then seemed to remember something, "Oh, I'm sorry. Honey, this is your roommate." Mrs. McCullers announced, walking slowly towards Emily.

"Hello," Emily said smiling sweetly at her. What else could she say? She was taken aback by the rudeness of Paige's mother.

The girl forced a smile and rapidly looked away. Instantly, Emily felt nervous. Even though no more than a few seconds had passed, she felt like an idiot. She couldn't just stand there, mesmerized like a child. - _Speak Emily. Say something. Do something! _– She thought. "I have to get the rest of my things. It was really nice to meet you Mrs McCullers."

"Nice to meet you too, Emily. Have fun." Paige's mother replied.

Emily tried to walk quickly, but she started bumping and almost falling into some of her own boxes. - _Why are you this nervous and embarrassed? You don't even know these people. – _She directed one last awkward smile their way, then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

When she couldn't be seen, her eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. That had been the weirdest thing ever; not counting the time she'd had a long conversation, with some random woman on the mall, about how she liked to secretly steal her neighbour's birds because they tasted like heaven.

"Em? Are you all right? Why are you standing on the hallway?" Spencer approached her with two water bottles.

"Shhhh...Shut up." Emily whispered as she dragged her friend away from her door.

"What's going on?" she asked, chuckling, "Your roommate? And? Does she look like Portia De Rossi? Is she hot?" Her friend asked with a hint of concern in her voice

"No. She doesn't look like her. Yes, she's hot...kind of...I don't know." Emily said, feeling slightly uneasy.

"I have to see her, right now. I've never heard you say someone is hot, except Maya of course."

"No. Her parents are here, and like 4 bodyguards or something. It was kind of awkward to be honest." She admitted.

Spencer fired her puppy eyes at her "Wait...Bodyguards? Is she famous? Maybe she's the daughter of someone important. Please Em, let me see her."

"No. Just...Let's set you in ok?" Emily said as they walked to Spencer's room. Hanna was already there looking at magazines. She helped them with some of Spencer's boxes, and then they went to have lunch. Before they noticed, it was already 7 p.m. Her friends had tried to ask once or twice about Paige, but she couldn't say anything. She didn't want to and it wasn't her place to say anything. They said their goodnight s and promised to go together to a party Spencer had planned to welcome the new students.

As Emily walked with her head down to her room, she thought of Paige. She had seemed so lonely, even though her parents and a bunch of people were beside her. She had never experienced loneliness. Her life was simple but happy; surrounded by family and friends.

She got closer to her door; she felt a knot forming in her stomach. Why was she so distressed about bumping into her roommate? It was probably because she didn't know anything about the girl. Well, just that her parents were a bit...weird. She opened the door carefully, as if she were expecting a ghost to attack her, and walked to her bed while she kept looking at her keys. She fried to look as indifferent as she could, but she didn't hear any sound. She lifted her face to look for Paige. She wasn't there. Emily felt a bit disappointed by it, but this was the perfect time to call Maya. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. It rang for what seemed a million times, but no one picked up. Maya was probably busy with her new school.

She sighted and lay on her bed for a few minutes. Was she supposed to wait for Paige to return? No way. Besides, if she wasn't there it was her problem, not Emily's. She was too tired to wait anyway. Her eyes started to close slowly until she finally fell asleep.

The sound of a door closing brought her suddenly awake. She lay for a moment, not knowing where she was.

"Sorry I woke you." Paige said as she stood by the door.

"It's ok. Don't worry." Emily scrutinized her new roommate again and this time she notice Paige had a very fit body. She sat on her bed, but kept observing as Paige placed her cell phone upon her desk.

"So...Where are you from?" Emily asked trying as hard as she could to keep her voice casual. She felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Clyde Hill, Washington." Paige answered arrogantly, still not looking at her.

" I'm from Rosewood, Pennsylvania. How old are you?"

"17." The girl had moved to the wardrobe and started examining the clothes inside.

"I'm 17 too. Do you have any siblings?" She asked fixing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Then Paige looked at her, "Look, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I'm honestly very tired to have a nice small chat with you right now." She took a short-sleeved orange Sweatshirt.

" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrogate you." Emily replied in a quiet voice. They exchanged quick glances as the room filled with awkward silence; she had imagined that sharing a room with someone you barely know would be strange, but this was extremely really bad. Emily thought that perhaps she shouldn't have asked that many questions so bluntly.

After a moment, Paige grabbed some Hello Kitty Plush shorts from one of her drawers.

"These things are disgusting. I'd never wear something like this!" She said showing them to Emily.

Paige's face was hilarious and cute; Emily couldn't help but smile, "Hum, maybe you mum bought them for you." She replied, standing up and walking to her own wardrobe.

Paige looked down and she hurriedly grabbed her shorts and a sweatshirt. "I guess I'll go change." She yawned. Emily shook her head affirmatively, running her fingers through her hair and tilting her head a bit to the side. "Ah. I hate Hello Kitty." She finally whined as she vanished from Emily's gaze.

Once she heard her closing the bathroom door she grabbed a pair of pink sweatpants and a pullover. She took off her clothes, and folded them into a little pile. The room was very cold so she grabbed the fresh, clean clothes and hastily pulled them on. After some minutes Paige opened the door, biting her lower lip, as she walked towards her bed. Emily realised the light in the room was very dim, barely showing the features of the girl.

Then Paige made a sudden stop, "Sorry about before. I was a bit overwhelmed." She said calmly, lying down on her bed.

"It's alright. I guess we'll have to get used to each other." Emily said as heard a sigh coming from the girl, followed by a barely audible whisper, so faint that she couldn't understand what she had said. It brought a smile to her face realizing how fast she had fallen asleep. For some odd reason she felt better beside Paige. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all.

Though she was scarcely conscious of it, Emily was very tired too. She lay back on her bed again; it felt so good, blissfully soft and the sheets were silky. She wanted to dream, to imagine that she was home with her parents and Maya. She wanted to drift into sleep.

As expected, the night passed uneventfully. A knock on the door woke her up and she slowly opened her eyes and, shortly after she did, she saw Paige. Her roommate was still sleeping in the twin bed next to hers. It was already morning and small rays of sunlight stroked against her right cheek. It was a nice view to wake up with. – _Wait...No._ -

"Who is it?" Emily said in a husky voice as she rose from her bed.

Someone opened the door, making her jolt, taking her back to reality. "Good morning sleepyhead. I'm sorry to wake you up, Em," It was Spencer, who emerged from behind the wooden door. "As this is Paige's first official day as part of St. James, and given that you are not a morning person, I took the liberty to wake you guys up at 9:00 a.m."

"You wanted to see her didn't you?" Emily replied getting out of bed.

Spencer moved near Paige's bed and tried to peek at her. "Come on Em, there are rumours all over the school about her. Hanna is freaking out and calling her 'PH'."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Paris Hilton..." Spencer rolled her eyes, "Anyway, just wake her up and go to the dining room. Tell her to dress casually. Oh, Hanna told me Prudence gave her a tour, so you won't have to do it." The slim girl walked to the door.

"Wait...Why is she calling her that?" Emily said softly, still half asleep.

"Don't know. She didn't tell me because she was going to meet Caleb. I'm hoping your roommate is less stupid though. I'll see you at the dining room, OK?" Spencer added noticeably thrilled.

When her friend was gone, Emily walked towards Paige who was still sleeping. She seemed so peaceful. In fact, she was looking adorable; her hair was a mess of tangles and she was oddly contorted. She cautiously touched her shoulder but almost drew back her hand as her roommate moved.

"Paige, you need to wake up." She said softly, trying to rouse the sleeping girl.

"What?" Paige replied quickly opening her eyes.

"We need to get ready. Do you want to take a shower first, or should I?" Emily asked gently.

Paige gave a silent gasp and nodded and signalled her to go first. Then she sat up and looked around the room disoriented.

Emily walked to her wardrobe and took out some jeans, a tee shirt and her favourite black boots, as she saw Paige slipping quietly out of bed.

"Oh, Spencer said you should dress casually." She smiled.

Paige rubbed her hands against each other. "Why is this room so cold? Aren't you cold?"

"Very. I was cold all night long, even with the blanket on."

Paige looked at her with eyes wide open, "Me too. What the fuck is wrong with this place? By the way, what's Spencer supposed to do?"

"Besides waking us up, she says she ensures the proper ordering of Academy life. She's kind of OCD, but she's great." Emily answered with her eyes fixed on the girl.

Paige went to her desk and grabbed a folder. "Do we have swim practice today? I can't wait to meet the coach." Paige said speaking in a rushed tone.

"Yes, we train almost every day. Coach Fulton is a great person. Maya thinks she looks like Oprah." Emily stopped moving at her sudden mention of Maya. Was it too soon to talk about her girlfriend? - _Damn it! You were supposed to wait Emily_. -

"Who's Maya?" Paige asked, frowning.

Emily's mouth felt dry. So far, she had managed to avoid the subject, but she knew that she had to tell Paige she was gay, eventually. "She's my girlfriend." She explained nervously. The expectation of the answer and the process of waiting, not to mention Paige's stillness; as if she turned into stone with her mouth wide open, made Emily's hands sweat. The girl said nothing in return and Emily felt the uncomfortable silence limbo surrounding them again. " I'm gay." She spoke, not sure if the other girl had heard her at all.

Paige just nodded in response, turning her gaze to the window, clearly shocked about what Emily had said. She was used to homophobic comments, but the silence was worse than all of those remarks she'd heard mixed together. She remembered the day she came out to her dad. He had been so accepting and supportive, and even if her mum struggled with it for a while, she had come around and accepted her. She couldn't help but miss them. She stiffened. Her smile had left her face completely as she looked anywhere but her roommate's face. - _Damn it, you're not ashamed of who you are anymore Emily. -_ She hoped Paige was just being shy, or didn't know what to say. After all, it could take a while for some people to recover from a coming out. They kept silent for a while until Emily lost her patience.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, trying not to let her worry show, "Did I say something wrong? I'll understand if you -" She was interrupted by a knock on the door. The girl seemed to be desperate to get out of the room, ready to run away.

"Come in." Paige said in a rush, but all of the lip movement was slowed down in Emily's head.

She said nothing at all. She didn't know if she was mad, or disappointed, or both, probably a mixture of both. Why did she even bother trying to explain herself to this girl? She wasn't even worth any of her feelings if she was an uptight bitch. However, she cared about what Paige thought of her. She had never cared about what anybody thought of her before, but she was going to be her roommate for the rest of the year. Couldn't she just say if she was ok with it or not instead of making Emily feel like shit?

A smiling Prudence appeared behind the door, "Hi Emily!...For fucks sake Paige, why haven't you showered yet?" She asked as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

.

"I...hum...She's going to shower first. Can I use your bath?" Paige gabbled slightly with her words. Well, there was Emily's answer. Her roommate was definitely not ok with her being gay.

"What? Why would..." Suddenly, Pru snapped her mouth shut, as if she had realized something, "Oh. Sure!" Emily narrowed her eyes and sighed.

Paige grabbed Pru's wrist and pulled her out of the room gently, but quickly. Emily just watched as the smaller girl waved her goodbye.

She had the best fucking luck. Emily rolled her eyes and grabbed clothes. She stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. She got undressed and hopped into the shower. She closed her eyes trying to relax under the warm jet of water. She loved showers, the hotter the better. But this time the shower didn't work. She was still irritated with how things turned out.

After she was ready to go, she went down into the dining room. There where teens already eating, seated at a giant communal table, and they moved and chatted lively. She could see Hanna, Spencer and Aria talking. She was very hungry so she grabbed a tray and stood in line to grab some food. Hanna spotted her on the line and stood up by her side.

"Hey, Em! Could you get me a latte?" The blonde said smiling at her, "Oh, guess what? Caleb bought tickets to see Justin Bieber even if he doesn't like him. Isn't he the best boyfriend ever?"

Emily let out a laugh, "Yeah, He is!" In the crowd, Paige's voice grabbed her attention. She turned towards the sound and saw her also standing in line, beside Pru and a bunch of people.

"Hi. You're Paige, right? Excuse me for not introducing myself before. I'm Noel." He said smiling at the girl. Paige nodded, opening her eyes wide and smiling back. "I have to say, you look beautiful today. Did you have a good sleep?" he scrutinized her.

Emily rolled her eyes. Noel Khan was so annoying, but he was right. Paige did look beautiful; she was wearing skinny jeans with brown boots, and a lovely lacy white long sleeve blouse. Paige seemed to like him. Her body language kind of said so, and she seemed to be very interested in what he was saying.

"Is Noel flirting with your roommate? Wasn't he dating Jenna? God, he's such a man whore. If Jenna and Alison see her flirting back at him they'll kill her. You should warn her." After a couple of minutes in line, she got her food and the lattes.

Hanna grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her to the table, "So, I guess rooming with the princess is going smoothly?" The blonde asked.

"The princess?" Emily sat beside Aria.

Hanna rolled her eyes at her, "You don't know who she is...do you?"

"Not really. We barely talked." Emily replied.

"What are you guys talking about?" Aria asked curiously.

"That's it. That's where I've seen her." Spencer shouted excitedly. The rest of them looked at her, "Newspapers. She's the daughter of Nicolas McCullers, a very wealthy and powerful congressman. She's a socialite. She's often portrayed her as a mysterious young lady."

"I've read rumours about her being a brazen, elitist bitch that goes around doing whatever she wants." Hanna added.

"Come on guys. How do you know that?" Emily asked a bit annoyed by the assumptions.

"I read Hello magazine! I love Prince Williams and she happens to be in, once in a while." The short girl replied.

"I don't think you should judge her. We don't even know her." Aria finally spoke looking serious.

"Don't pretend you don't like to gossip Aria...So, Em, is she?" Hanna said ignoring Aria's remark.

"Is she what?"

Hanna rolled her eyes, "A bitch!"

"Well, I don't know if she's a bitch but she certainly is not alright with me being gay." Emily said looking at Paige across the room, still talking to Noel and looking incredibly entertained.

"Are you serious? What did she say? I'll hunt her down and rip out her throat if she said anything stupid." Spencer said sharply, "I won't let her do anything to you."

"She didn't say anything. She just stopped talking when I told her about Maya. But it's ok, really. I got it under control."

"Fine! But if she does, you tell me and I'll get her out of here." Her friends where so protective of her, and she was grateful, but sometimes it was too much.

Aria smiled, gave Emily a hug and then asked, "Anyway, are we going to have a welcome party this year?"

"Of course, but the Dean made me swear there'll be no alcohol..." Spencer said, while giving them her famous knowing smile.

"Really? That's like ... boring!" Hanna intervened, teasing the girl. "I stole some booze from my mom's stash. That's why some of my bags were so heavy."

"I don't think that's a good idea Han!" Emily told her.

"Oh, come on party poopers," Hanna yelled, "The football team is going to bring cheap alcohol anyway I rather drink whiskey or vodka than that crap!"

"Ok, let's just keep it to ourselves. And I don't want you to get as drunk as last time, Hanna." Spencer warned the blond.

They kept talking about the party for a while, but Emily's thoughts lingered to Paige. She wondered if she was a good swimmer. What her life was like when she was at Clyde Hill? Who where her friends at her old school?

She could see Paige sitting across from her. Still Noel was next to her. What the hell was he supposed to be doing? He was in a relationship with Jenna. Why was he even flirting with her?

Emily kept her eyes down, focusing on the table as she sipped her coffee. When she looked up she caught Paige looking at her, but the girl immediately turned away. She hoped she would talk to her at some point, but she didn't So she just kept drinking her latte.

When breakfast was over, Spencer said a welcoming speech and informed them about the senior class party.

"Ok people, listen up. It's a new school year, and we're making sure that it will be an amazing one, seeing as this is our senior year," Spencer said looking proud, "And some of us will be graduating very soon, we have planned a party for next Saturday. You can bring friends but alcohol is not allowed." Some guys started booing at what she had said. "Oh, come on. We all know that you'll bring it, so stop it" Everybody cheered, and then everybody went their own way again.

Emily watched as Paige left the room, to god knows where, with Noel and other people.

"Are you alright Em? You've been very quiet." Aria asked.

She sighed, " I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired."

They stood up as Spencer told them about a place she had found behind their dorm. She led them down a corridor to a door that opened out onto a garden on the south side of the dorm. It was a relaxing and very quiet garden; Bushes along a path that led to a lake, with old wood benches on the shore. Few big trees scattered here and there. The weather was horrible that day but, even if her body felt the cold sting of the wind, she was enjoying the company of the girls. Everything seemed so easy with them. Hanna had been the first person who didn't make a deal of her sexuality, or asked her stupid questions about it.

They complemented Spencer for the finding and sat on the benches.

"So, how was your summer?" Aria spoke, taking a seat beside Spencer.

Hanna rolled her eyes at the small girl, "Well, you would've heard about it if you hadn't disappeared on us."

"What? I told you I was going to Iceland!" Aria replied as she threw a branch at the blonde.

"Whatever. Mine was so good." Hanna replied smiling at them, "I met Caleb's mother and we had the most amazing time. There, we stayed at the guest house and we didn't get out of bed for like 3 days. We had so much sex it was ridic-"

"Hanna! We don't need to know what you and Caleb do with your spare time." Spencer screamed closing her eyes.

"Why? It was all so..."

Spencer interrupted with a horrified look, "Oh, please spare me the details. And don't touch me for a couple of days."

"Well, it's your loss. Toby and you could learn so much from us." Hanna replied teasingly, "What about you, Em? Did you have fun with Maya?" The blond bounced her eyebrows.

"Yes. It was nice." After a while, Emily sighed and said, " I'm not telling you about that Hanna."

The girls continued chatting for about an hour, catching up on their summer, until Spencer looked at her watch, " Gee, I'm going to be late for hockey. Don't you have swim practice Em?"

"Shit. I forgot. I got to go guys. I'll see you later." Emily said as she stood up as quickly as she could and sprinted over to her room. She put the key in the lock and turned it. She went inside, closing the door behind her, buts she looked up she found Paige; wet and in the process of dressing, naked.

"What the fuck?" Paige screamed and immediately grabbed her towel.

Emily felt her cheeks flushing and quickly looked at the floor. "I'm so sorry; I didn't know you were here. I'm so, so, so sorry." She had barely seen Paige's body but Emily had to admit it was nice, very nice; it looked so soft and toned. Something inside her shifted, she felt an odd, warm feeling. – _Damn it Emily, control your hormones. Think about something else, anything! – _She thought.

"Fine...now, could you please get the fuck out? Or do you want to keep perving on me?" Paige asked sarcastically, but looking very angry.

Emily immediately turned around and closed the door. Damn it! Why did that had to happen? Now Paige was going to think she was harassing her. She banged her head against the wall. She shouldn't have gone into the room like that and to make matters worse now she'd had to wait out there until Paige went out so she could get her swim bag.

A few minutes later Paige came out dressed in her team's practice gear. She barely gazed up at Emily. "All yours." she told her, as if she felt sorry for her, and kept walking away trough the corridor.

"Thanks." Emily said timidly, "Paige?" The girl didn't turn around, "I really didn't mean to do that. I'm really sorry." She heard the girl sigh as she kept walking.

Not a word, it was like Emily was a ghost. It was going to be hell to be stuck with Paige.

She grabbed her bag and took off to the swimming pool. The building was far from her dorm so she had to run through the campus, nearly crashing into one or two people, for a few minutes. After what seemed to her like an eternity, she reached the building.

"Fields, Why are you this late?" The coach straightened up slightly as she gave her a stern look.

" I'm sorry, I forgot about practice." Emily explained.

"I'll pass it this time but don't be late again, ok? Now get ready. We're going to compete today." At the corner of her eyes, she saw Paige standing near the pool, looking intently at the water in front of her before she sat on a bench, taking out her iPhone and putting on her earplugs. She looked as if she didn't want to be disturbed by anyone. Emily walked to the locker room, changed as fast as she could into her team uniform, and joined a group of girls who were chatting. She wanted to somehow reach to Paige. She felt her stomach heave slightly. Apparently she still caused a small amount of anxiety; Paige was undeniably intimidating.

"Ok, Ladies, let's move!" The coach clapped enthusiastically and the team stood in line by the pool.

As they started the usual introductions, Emily heard some of her team-mates chatting. Once in a while they asked her about irrelevant things and she just agreed and smiled. She didn't know what to say anyway. She was looking at Paige, standing with Prudence a few spots from her. She was slightly frustrated by the fact that Paige would rather be with anyone else but her. She was supposed to be her roommate. Weren't they supposed to be bonding? Spending time together? _- Stop thinking nonsense's, Emily. Why do you even care who she spends time with?...She's a bitch...That's right, so stop thinking about her. -_

She finally concentrated on what the coach was saying: swim meets and training. Then the warm up began. Emily took some time to analyse her roommate's talent. She was incredible; fast and strong.

When the practice was over the coach gather them up again, "Very good work girls. After today's training, we will choose a team captain. She will be selected based on today's performance." The woman said and the group looked at each other in silence. Emily felt her stomach churning and her heart pounding, she felt like that before a swim meet. She took a deep breath and let it out again slowly. She wasn't interested in becoming team captain. She was content with being allowed to swim. She looked up and saw a strand of hair caressing Paige cheek as she leaned to whisper something into Prudence's ear. She was smiling cockily with her arms crossed over her chest.

"The results will be announced tomorrow." The coach added as she handed them some new towels printed with the team's mascot and a black backpack. "We kept track of your times, that way we can also select the relay team, but remember things can change as the season progresses."

"Coach, what's the backpack for?" Asked a blond girl confidently and grinning at Emily.

"The Backpack contains important information about the swimming competitions we'll be attending to and a few school goodies. Oh, one last thing, I'll be watching your grades. If they go below the average you won't compete." The woman affirmed grinning, "Now go take a shower."

Emily opened the bag to see what was in there; swimming equipment and a couple of blue aluminium water flask with the school's logo.

"Why do we need water flasks?" The same blond girl questioned as she looked at her.

"I have no idea. I guess we'll figure it out." She answered Smiling kindly at her.

The girl scanned Emily from head to toe before she spoke, " I'm Samara by the way. I'm new." She smirked and twirled her fair hair slightly.

Emily avoided her gaze. Did she just check her out? No, that was ridiculous. Though, the look the blonde was giving her made her stomach flop a bit. God damn it, the lesbian scene was so confusing. "Oh, cool." She finally said.

"I saw you at the dorm!" Samara said raising her eyebrow and taking a step closer to her.

The blonde's proximity made her a little uncomfortable so she took a step back, "You're a senior too?"

"Yes. But since Queen McCullers is new too she got all the attention." Samara boasted as they walked into the locker room. "She's your roommate right?"

Emily nodded as she noticed the girl was kind of hot. She smiled one last time at the girl and, as she approached her locker, she saw Paige.

Just perfect, her locker was right beside hers. Emily started to nervously look through her bag. Paige seemed to be nervous as well, and Emily realized it must have to do with the freaking 'gay thing'. The girl seemed to be almost in pain by being beside her. Was she scared of her? She suddenly felt her heart sinking. It didn't feel right to make Paige go through that, even if she was a homophobic prick.

"I'm going to go take a shower in the dorm. You can shower here," Emily told her softly, almost whispering, as she closed her locker and put her sweatpants over her wet swimsuit.

Paige looked at her, "Wait, you don't have to do that. I'll go." Emily couldn't figure out if her grimace was due to shame or sadness, or was it pain? She didn't really know and she couldn't say a word, she just watched Paige as she took her bag from her locker and walked away. Why was Emily feeling so broken...so...incomplete? She didn't know why but she felt connected to her, as if her soul instantly knew hers. But she didn't believe in soul mates or any of that crap and, if she did had a soul mate it was Maya, not a stranger who couldn't even be near her.

She kept her eyes fixed on her roommate. Paige was about to walk out the locker room when Samara appeared, "Move over, Paris." The blonde told Paige standing right in front of her. "Aren't you supposed to be getting drunk in bars or having a foursome or something?"

Immediately, Pru stood up beside her friend, "Excuse me! Who do you think you are?" Asked Pru a heated up, while the rest of the girls were looking at them.

Paige signalled the smaller girl to stop, "Aw...how charming. Look, I really want to chat and everything ass clown, but I don't like strippers so...bye now!" She said sarcastically, turning away from the blonde.

Samara laughed mockingly, "I'm sorry, did I make you angry? I didn't realize you're so sensitive Paris." Samara had pushed Paige.

The rest of the girls started murmuring, "Ok, that's it. Back off, Dita Von Teese. If you touch me again or call me Paris, I'll kick your fucking ass, got it?"

"Whatever. Nice accent, posh spice!" Emily saw how Paige clenched her fist. She seemed to force herself to be calm.

She stepped closer to them and grabbed the blonde by the arm to lead her away from Paige, but the blonde refused.

"What's going on here?" The coach had entered the locker room without Emily noticing.

"Nothing coach! We're just having a chat, aren't we?" Samara asked as Paige nodded, evidently tightening her jaw.

The coach kept her eyes on Paige, "If I hear you fighting again, you'll be out of the team. Off you go now."

Emily felt her muscles tense as she saw Paige before she stormed out of the room.

She turned to the blonde, "Are you mad? Why did you do that for?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I don't know what she was telling you but you looked hurt and had to say something."

"Look, I don't need to be protected okay? Paige said nothing wrong, so please don't talk to her like that." Emily told her seriously.

The other girl opened her eyes and nodded.

"Thank you." Emily finally said and walked away to the showers.

She slowly fixed her swim gear into her bag and left the building. She didn't want to go to her room yet. She wanted to give Paige some space after what had happened, so she just walked around the campus without a destination for a while. She wished Maya was there with her. None of that mess would be happening if she was still there.

After an hour or so she went to her room, and when she opened the door she found Paige standing in front of the window with her back facing her.

She walked slowly towards her, " I'm sorry about before Paige, Are you alright?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Paige sighed as she turned to leave.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Emily hollered, failing at keeping calm. She had already lost it, "Why are you being like this?"

Paige turned to face her, seeming quite mad, "What do you want from me? What do you want me to-"

Emily interrupted her, "You could tell me something rather than just shutting off! If you find me repulsive...just say so Paige. I rather if you said that. I hate your silence treatment." She shouted, stepping towards her bed, tossing her bag to the side. She looked at Paige and finally noticed she had been crying, "I just want us to be friends Paige."

Her roommate laughed, "Ok, if you want me to speak, fine! I can't be your friend. I don't want to be your friend. And just so you know, this has nothing to do with you being gay. I couldn't care less about that." Emily was taken aback by Paige's harsh words. She felt her eyes begging to well up, but the girl continued, "You asked for it... You shouldn't have expected any other answer," she said, turning away from Emily's gaze.

"People expect things from others..." She whispered whit her eyes looking at Paige, unable to move from her spot.

Paige looked down and walked out the door, "Perfect, walk away then," Emily finally screamed, as Paige slammed the door. She instantly felt guilty. She sat on her bed, feeling her eyes well up with tears. She was numb. She didn't know how to feel about the situation anymore.

Lying down on her bed, sadness finally started to catch up with her, and she began to weep. She could feel her mobile phone buzzing on her pocket where she had left it. She pulled it out and saw that it was Maya. She paused for a moment, and then put the phone down. She wanted to talk to her girlfriend but she didn't want to explain what had been going on.

A couple of minutes later, Emily finally pulled herself together. She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was red and her eyes swollen. Sighing, she looked at the phone again, Spencer, Hanna and Aria had been calling her, not once, but about 20 times each.

Why was she feeling so bad about this? After a moment she turned the phone off and went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again everybody. Here is a new chapter!**

**Thank you so much to everybody who has taken time to favourite or follow.**

**I really appreciate it, since I'm not good at writing.**

**Special thanks to cici, emsy, Marmoreck, , Blue, JessRawrs, Rain'sMistress and everybody that took the time to review. Your have helped and inspired me.**

* * *

**Chapter III: And So I Watch You From Afar.**

Paige had been running since 5 am. Branches stroked her face and body once in a while but she didn't even notice. Running relaxed her and helped her think, so she kept going quickly. She thought the forest was full of wonderful sounds; the wind moving through the clearing, the nice singing of the birds, the noises the forest made as everything inside it woke up. She couldn't dare to put her earplugs in. This was just what she needed. Besides, it had been two days since school had started and she was already piled up with homework. Not to mention she was barely in her room; she didn't want to go there to be Emily, when they were alone, so she would stay up until 2 am, and then go back to her room where she was already sleeping. Just a couple of days doing that and she felt tremendously tired. So tired that she could barely stay awake in classes, but she had to keep it that way. She was scared of Emily; of the things she felt when she was near her. She wasn't supposed to be feeling those things.

She was trying to hate Emily but she couldn't. She tried to hate every little thing about her: The way she talked, the way she moved, but she couldn't. She tried hating her, but Paige ended up hating herself even more for being so weak. All those years of trying to be cold and independent went to hell the moment she saw Emily. To make it worse, she would dream about her too. Now, Paige had needs that went beyond food. Was it just desire? ... She didn't want to know. She had never felt so strange in her entire life.

After a while, she realised she had been running for a quite some time. Her lungs were burning with the effort of trying to keep up with the fast rhythm. She used to jog a lot back home as part of her training but nothing like this; she had sprinted the whole time. Her legs started to feel heavy. – _At least I can thank Emily for my new workout sessions._ – She told herself and smiled. Her body felt cold and even her scalp tingled. She loved the weather there; always cold.

She decided to stop to recover from the sprinting. She was breathing deeply when, out of the blue, someone crashed into her. She could manage to stop herself from falling but the other person couldn't and fell hard on the floor. It didn't take much to realise who it was and she started laughing when she saw Emily´s face.

"Charming, as usual," Her roommate said rolling her eyes.

Paige walked over to her, still laughing, "I thought you were just bad at swimming Fields! But turns out you suck at everything." As she spoke she felt a sudden wave of remorse crashing down on her. A warm rush filled her cheeks, - _Fucks sake Paige, why do you feel so bad whenever you say something mean to her. This isn't like you._ -

Emily looked up; her eyes seemed hard, "Well...at least I'm not a spoiled prick like you are."

Paige laughed, "Is that supposed to make me feel bad?...Was that all you could come up with?"

Emily rolled her eyes again and grabbed her ankle. She seemed to tremble in pain. Paige crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you alright?" She asked as Emily tied to stand up, but fell again and screamed in pain. It made Paige jump a bit, "Fucking hell Fields...What the fuck was that?"

"Just leave me alone Paige...Go now, You'll be able to shower in the room now that I'm not there...You know, because I clearly want to rape you and all," Emily said, still on the floor.

Paige sighed loudly, "Are we going to talk about that right now? Seriously Fields?"

"We have to talk about it Paige." Emily kept her eyes on her, which made her stomach flutter and her heart pound so very quickly; like when she drove up and down a hill, really fast.

"Alright...fine. We'll talk soon...but can you stop looking at me and take care of your bleeding." Paige pointed at Emily's knees and stood still, sighing. – _Why did you agree Paige, Why? You're an idiot._ -

Emily smiled widely; obviously satisfied with her success, "Well, at least I didn't hit my face!" Her wounds were not life-threatening but they were bleeding.

Paige thought she couldn't leave her there, so she leaned down beside her. Her hands made contact with Emily's waist. It was the first time she had touched her, and the moment she did it she regretted it; her face felt on fire.

Emily frowned when she felt Paige´s touch, and hesitated, "What are you doing?"

Paige looked at the ground, "Do you want me to leave you here...because I can happily do it...or do you want me to help you walk back to our room?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be alright." Emily said argued, trying to shrug her off, but failing because of the pain.

"No, you won't. I can't leave you here, so shut the Fu-" Paige realized she had started to raise her voice, so she stopped and corrected, "Just shut up please and let me help you!"

She felt Emily's arm around her neck after a moment. Paige body was growing warm with the proximity, even though cold wind stroked against it.

They didn't spoke as they made their way back to their dorm. Paige kept supporting her weight while she thought of how Emily managed to look beautiful, even if her hair had unravelled from its ponytail.

After walking for a while they reached their room. Paige helped Emily sit, "Do you want me to call someone?"

Emily looked at her apologetically, "No, I'm ok. I'll call Spencer...Paige, I'm sorry about everything. I didn't mean for this to happen."

She didn't know if Emily was talking about the whole deal or the crashing, "Don't worry about it Fields. You look worse than I do," She assured as she sat on her bed.

"Thank you...for helping me." Emily uttered, taking her phone out of her pocket.

Paige felt as if she couldn't breathe and gasped a little for air why was Emily so nice? "Whatever. I need to go to class...bye now." She got up and walked out of the room. She didn't turn back nor glanced back; she just stood still in the corridor, alone, for a moment. _–Fuck Paige, you're supposed to hate her. -_ But the truth was that she wanted her around. No, God damn it, she couldn't let herself break down now. She had to be strong.

She almost ran to Pru's room and knocked on the door frantically. Her friend answered the door and looked surprised, 'What the...What's up?' asked the girl with concern.

"Can I use you shower?" Paige asked innocently, smiling at her, trying to hide the mess inside her.

"Roommate isn't here so feel free. Clean towels are over there," Prudence replied, still half asleep, as she sat on her bed, "By the way, it's not that I don't like you here all the time but...don't you have your own room? What's going on Paige?" She finally asked frowning.

"I promise this is the last time I shower here, ok?...And nothing is going on." she said half-heartedly, taking a towel.

"Something is going on...I know you," Pru stopped moving and opened her mouth astonished, "Hold on, hold on ... you're into her!"

"For fucks sake," Paige said out loud, frowning.

Pru continued, "She told you she's gay, didn't she? Is that why you're freaking out?" Her friend looked very excited.

"NO!, and I don't like her...at all..."

"You do, you like her...fucking hell. Ok...take a quick shower...then we need to talk, but not here."

"I don't want to talk about anything,"

"If you want to keep being my friend we'll talk Paige..." She said calmly but she knew Pru was getting mad.

"God damn it Pru, there's nothing to talk about!" Her friend walked to her and snatched the towel quickly from her hands, "Fuck, alright...We'll talk...You know I hate you don't you?" Paige finally said as she got into the bathroom.

She showered fast and pulled on her uniform. When she opened the door she found Pru already waiting for her. She quickly grabbed Paige's arm and led her to a spot next to the river, across from their dorm.

Pru kept quiet for a while, then she smiled, "Now tell me, what's going on? Why are you behaving like this?"

She didn't want to talk about it so she just shrugged, "I told you nothing is going on,"

"Fuck! Stop lying to me...I know you like her! That's why you can't be near her." Paige turned her face from her friend, "God Paige, I know it's been difficult but not everyone is like-"

Paige sighed deeply looking at the river. and remembered what had happened. She wasn't angry about it, not anymore. Those had been difficult times. She had met a girl two years ago, Sophia. What she had felt for her, she couldn't call love; she thought love was something people had made up to make themselves feel better, to feel less lonely. It didn't matter to her anyway since she had always felt alone, as if some part of her didn't exist. It had not been love. She had had a crush on her, and it didn't last for too long. Sophia had betrayed her; hurt her in the worse way possible. After what happened, Paige had been depressed for quite some time. she ended up in the hospital and, as days went by, Pru was the only person visiting her. Her whole life was a mess back then. She had nowhere to go; her parents had cut her off completely. She had no money, and she couldn't work because of her injuries. Pru's family helped her for a while, before her father brought her back home.

She closed her eyes for a moment before looking at Prudence. Her friend's gaze was soft, "I'm sorry I brought that up. Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. And you can say her name...she's not even remotely important now."

"Still, I'm really sorry," Pru clenched her fists,

They stayed there for a while; neither said a word or moved. Then Pru spoke, "You haven't answered my question. Do you like Emily?"

Paige looked away and sighed softly, "Even if I did you know I can't...My parents would kill me this time."

"Paige, you are my best friend...you know I would never say a word to them."

"What if something happens again? No, I can't...I won't." Paige's voice was quiet, but a tiny trace of fear flitted around the edges of her tone.

"I promise I won't let them do anything to you ever again...And I won't let yo- " Paige could see Pru's eyes starting to water, "But whatever, we shouldn't think about that. And I'm sorry to tell you this but; you can't decide who to like...so get over it,"

"No, we can't. But I sure as hell can decide to shut up about it. You choose what to do about it."

Her friend looked annoyed, "Why are you even pressed about liking her? You've been into other girls before and you weren't like this...Besides, I don't think you're Emily's type. Have you seen her girlfriend Maya? She's cool and REALLY HOT." Paige looked at her angrily, as Pru continued, " I'm not saying you're not hot, because you are...God, what I mean is that you should stop being a prick. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend that knows exactly what you are going through and what you are feeling?"

"I already have a friend like that!" She said smiling.

"I hate it when you get all mushy. Luckily it doesn't happen often." Pru grimaced, "Whatever, it's you call...If you want to keep listening to me...talking about very hairy chests and balls and..."

Paige opening her eyes wide, "Ew...Fuck it...I'll do it. I guess a new friend wouldn't hurt, would it? But you will seriously have to ship me off to Alaska if my parents find out that I've been "playing lesbian" again...clear?"

"Yes, clear...OMG, this is going to be so much fun! Can we go to a gay bar? Or maybe a strip club!" Pru said as she happily jumped and clapped.

_- The last class, just one more class for the day. -_ Paige though as she walked through the corridor. She was already dog tired and stressed. Besides the little incident with Emily, her day had passed relatively quickly. She had managed to avoid the girl most of the day. It was only until then, that they shared a class, that Paige couldn't elude her roommate. Even if she agreed to talk to her and try to be her friend she didn't have the guts. The problem was that, really, Emily never hovered far off from her thoughts. Fuck she was confused! She took a deep breath and kept walking. When she got into the classroom though, her legs failed. The first thing she saw was Emily, sitting beside Spencer, near the front of the classroom.

As she walked past them to take her seat next to Pru, Spencer darted her eyes at her like daggers. Maybe Emily had told her friends about what was going on, and she couldn't blame her for hating her; she had been kind of horrible to her. But that was who she was. Paige somehow didn't know how to be nice to people.

Pru smiled at her as she sat beside her. Everybody stopped talking when the teacher, an odd man who, judging from his hair cut, was definitely stuck in the 60′s, entered the room. Paige Yawned, she thought Psychology was a waste of time, so she didn't listen to anything the teacher said. She just got out a pencil and started drawing. She liked to draw faceless people; it was as if how somehow, whenever she put a face on a person, she drew what she thought of them. She'd draw everything else, every little detail she saw.

She drew the classroom and some of the people facing the board. After some time she glanced up and noticed the class was almost over. Her name being mentioned forced her to look at the teacher. "Emily Fields, Spencer Hastings, Paige McCullers and Prudence Wong; your assignment is to prepare and present complete information about the structure and function of the eye and the process of-"

Paige complete body stiffened and her stomach flipped. Emily had turned her head and was looking straight at her, "Well...fuck my luck!" She mumbled, trying to stay calmed. Pru nudged her.

"Would you like to share something with the class Miss McCullers?" The teacher asked with a fuming look.

"No. That's why I was whispering," She answered as the bell rang. Everybody jumped up out of their seats.

Paige lazily grabbed her bag and placed one of its straps over her shoulder.

"McCullers, wait." She heard Spencer say as she started to walk out of the class room, "I think we should start the assignment right away,"

Emily was standing right beside Spencer, without smiling or looking at her. Paige's mind went blank; empty of all thoughts. She started feeling very anxious. Prudence must have noticed it and intervened, "When do you want us to start?" Her friend answered Spencer walking beside Paige.

"We have to be free for Saturday night so, today. We'll meet you at the library at 8. Don't be late." Spencer added coldly looking at Paige.

The library was full of people studying, even sitting on the floor, when Paige got there. Thank god Pru had managed to find a free table. She didn't know if he could remain on her feet; swimming practice had been exhausting; everytime she saw Emily close, she would swim faster. Everything she wanted to do was take a nap. She didn't care about anything at that point but her bed. She liked school, but that fucking assignment was going to kill her.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting here for ages. I can't handle Spencer by myself...Wait...Where the fuck is Emily?" Pru asked a bit to loud, making some people turn to look at them.

"Shh...Don't know." Paige whispered as she let her body fall into a chair.

"Are you still not taking to her? Fuck...If you don't stop this shit now I swear I´ll beat the crap out of you"

She was too tired to argue so she just nodded. She took out a bottle out of her bag and took a huge sip of water. When she had swollen it, she turned her face and saw Emily walking fast to where they were, " I'm sorry I'm late." Her roommate smiled warmly and took a sit right across her.

Paige started to nervously play with her fingers and her palms started to was it so hard to be near Emily? She didn't even know her. She didn't know anything about her. Yet, there she was, upset about her proximity.

She shifted in her seat again as Spencer approached, carrying a bunch of books. "I guess this will do"" The slim girl said, sitting beside Emily.

Quietly, they each took a book and began to scan through the pages, looking for any information that could be relevant. Paige kept her gaze down, flipping the pages after she had "tried" to read them. She couldn't concentrate, all she could think of at the moment was Emily's nearness.

She was pulled back from her thoughts by Pru´s voice. "Now's your chance to talk to her...go on!"She pointed with her head.

Paige followed Pru's gaze and smiled in spite of herself. There was Emily, just standing across the room, looking tired but happy. She wanted to walk to her, but she was held captive by her fears, "I can't. I have nothing to say..." She was so close yet so out of her reach.

Pru narrowed her eyes, "Well, you could start by saying something like: Hi, I'm sorry I've been a bitch to you, I'll try to stop now."

Paige declined the offer with her head. She couldn't talk to Emily. Not right now. Not when she felt like dying just by looking at her. She didn't find her just 'hot'. It wasn't just a simple attraction. She found Emily breathtakingly beautiful.

She was going to wait until those feelings disappeared or until she had no more strength left in her. If she wanted to be Emily's friend she'd had to get over those stupid feelings first.

She tried to walk away, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Emily. Perhaps there wasn't much she could do about it. She was hypnotized by the girl. She would be content with watching her from afar. That would have to be enough...for now.


End file.
